System and method for management and distribution of multimedia presentations

ABSTRACT

A system including a processor that performs the steps of: receiving, from a graphical user interface at a user device, first filter data related to first physical exercise attributes; comparing the first filter data with metadata associated with physical exercise objects, the metadata and the physical exercise objects being stored in one or more databases, the physical exercise objects comprising image data selected from the group consisting of moving, still or animated image data related to physical exercises; determining a requested first subset of the physical exercise objects based on results of the comparing step; displaying in the graphical user interface the requested first subset of the physical exercise objects as a physical exercise routine presentation; receiving, from the graphical user interface, presentation data related to reorganization of the physical exercise routine presentation; and providing the reorganized physical exercise routine presentation as a completed physical exercise routine presentation.

RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a divisional of U.S. application Ser. No.12/404,125, filed Mar. 13, 2009, which in turn is a divisional of U.S.application Ser. No. 11/567,728 filed Dec. 6, 2006, the contents of bothof these application being incorporated herein by reference in theirentirety.

This application includes material which is subject to copyrightprotection. The copyright owner has no objection to the facsimilereproduction by anyone of the patent disclosure, as it appears in thePatent and Trademark Office files or records, but otherwise reserves allcopyright rights whatsoever.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates in general to the field of multimediacontent generation and assembly, and in particular to systems andmethods for assembly and delivery of multimedia objects or elements.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Technology has provided increasingly sophisticated tools that allow acontent consumer to experience multimedia presentations. A typicalconsumer has access to interactive multimedia experiences via numerousdevices. A user may have experiences with interactive multimediapresentation devices that present one or more of images, video, sound ortext. As computing technology has become more ubiquitous, consumers havebegun to hear and see the output of electronic media files in many newplaces. Some of these places include for example the consumer's home,office, and vehicle.

In addition to the revolution that has brought the experience ofmultimedia to the consumer via numerous devices, there has been asimilar revolution in the creation and capture of images, sounds, textand video for media presentations. While many content capture toolscontinue to require expensive equipment and sophisticated training,simple tools to capture or create media such as images, videos, text andsounds have become available to users.

While simple tools to capture media have become available, tools tocombine media such as images, video, and audio files in order togenerate and modify multimedia presentations have remained expensive anddifficult to use. Management of multimedia presentations requiresexpensive equipment and training for administrators and users.

Since the advent of the Internet the notion of content and presentationcreation and distribution has evolved. In music production, videoproduction, and text creation, it is now accepted that content creationincludes not only recording images, animation, video, and sound, butalso may include the arrangement and annotation of pre-existing contentor the combination of pre-existing content and newly generated content.Unfortunately, the tools that are available for presentation creationhave not advanced to the stage of allowing individuals to efficientlycreate rich and customizable multimedia presentations.

In the context of content generated to support an interactivepresentation experience, the generation of multimedia presentationsincluding interrelated and customizable content may greatly improve theexperience of the content consumers. A presentation creator is a personor entity that generates a presentation for guiding the experience of apresentation consumer. Often the presentation creator is also thepresenter of the presentation. In such cases, the presentation creatoris available for guiding the presentation consumer's experience. Thisguidance may be provided in a variety of forums, for example in anin-person meeting, via video conference, an internet session, audioconference or via other means that allow the presenter to respond tosituations, questions, and other opportunities for an interactiveexperience on the part of the presentation consumer. Sessions involvingthe ability of the presenter to respond to such presentation consumerinteractions will be referred to herein as live sessions.

Frequently, the presenter does not or cannot attend live sessions withthe presentation consumer. This may be due, for example, to issues suchas the cost of bringing the presenter together with the presentationconsumer, schedule conflicts between the presenter and the individualwho wishes to experience the presentation, travel on either thepresenter's or the presentation consumer's part, etc. In cases in whicha live session between the presenter and the presentation consumer arenot possible, the presenter sometimes provides the presentation consumerwith verbal, written, drawn or other information on one or more sessionsthat the presentation consumer may experience without the presence ofthe presenter.

The typical result of the presenter's inability to attend a live sessionwith the presentation consumer (or group of consumers) is a mixture offrustration on the presenter's part regarding the presenter's effort tocreate and deliver the presentation in a timely, efficient, and clearmanner. The presentation consumer must then experience the presentationthat is assembled from a multitude of poorly integrated media, forexample: written notes, emails, sketches, photos images, and the like.Often when the presentation consumer has to attempt to understand thepresenter's instructions and intentions without the benefit of thepresenter's presence and the interactivity that the presenter's presenceprovides the presentation consumer also experiences similar frustration.Presenters lack tools that enable them to conveniently createinteractive presentations that presentation consumers may utilizeoutside of live sessions. Presentation consumers thus lack an easy touse and follow solution.

In addition to the difficulties of providing interactivity efficientlyto presentation consumers, there are additional difficulties for apresenter who wishes to monetize his or her presentations. When such apresenter is limited in his or her ability to present interactivepresentations outside of live sessions, he or she is typically incomelimited. That is, a presentation professional's income is usuallylimited to the number of presentation hours that can be provided in aday, multiplied by the number of days in the week, weeks in the month,and months of the year. While the intention of the presentationprofessional is to improve the experience of his or her presentationconsumers, they are essentially “stuck” with a cap on his or her incomebased on his or her ability to provide live sessions.

Tools to distribute multimedia files remain difficult to customize andlack the flexibility necessary to provide a strong presentationexperience to presentation consumers. Presentation creators interestedin sharing multimedia files typically lack distribution tools.Multimedia presentation distribution is performed in a variety ofmanners, including emailing files, posting media files on web sites orbulletin boards, or simply using postal mail to send digital filesrecorded on CD, DVD, flash card or similar file storage technology.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

An aspect of the disclosed system and method is directed towardsproviding software that allows a presentation creator to create andmodify presentations in a sophisticated manner. This aspect allows apresentation creator to create presentations that are composed ofmultimedia elements (such as text, images, sound, video, animation, orother multimedia) and to specify the relationships, meta-data,organization, and overall presentation of the content in order togenerate highly sophisticated and flexible presentations. Presentationsand the associated multimedia elements may be added to content librariesthat may be further combined to make more sophisticated multimediapresentations. The term presentation should be understood to refer tomultimedia elements and the software and meta-data used to assemble andpresent them.

Presentations or programs stored in the content library may be deliveredto individuals through a variety of means, including for example one ofmore of the following delivery means: via a network, via a recordablemedium, via a software network, and other presentation delivery means.Presentations or programs may be provided to a content consumer in avariety of file formats. The presentations may be provided to contentconsumers on any device that are capable of receiving the content fromthe server.

In an exemplary embodiment, presentation and programs stored in thecontent library provided are designed by the presentation creator. Thesepresentations or programs may include a variety of types ofpresentations, for example, instructions on how to perform an action oractions, advice on a course of action, entertainment, and otherpresentation content. The presentations or programs may be customized ina variety of ways; the customization may include, for example, the orderin which the content should be experienced, the form of thepresentation, and the images, videos, animations, audio content, andinstructional tips within the presentation and program.

Certain embodiments of the invention are directed towards a userinterface for the creation of a multimedia presentation. The userinterface may provide a presentation creator with the ability to combinemedia elements such as audio, video, animation, text, images, and othermedia into rich multimedia objects. The rich multimedia objects may bestored and manipulated in a hierarchical content library that providessupport for efficient location and manipulation of the content. The userinterface may provide access to the content library and presentationediting software.

In accordance with some embodiments, a content distribution model allowsa content creator, content manager, content publisher, or contentdistributor to coordinate, control, and monetize the distribution ofmultimedia content. Presentations may be created and customized withinthe content library.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 shows a relationship tree illustrating the relationship betweenmultimedia elements, multimedia objects and multimedia sets according tosome embodiments of the invention.

FIG. 2 shows a flow diagram illustrating an exemplary embodiment inwhich content is added to the library, created and accessed by aconsumer and/or a content host.

FIG. 3 shows a graphical representation illustrating an exemplaryembodiment of a user interface for the assembly of multimedia objectsinto a presentation.

FIG. 4 shows a graphical representation illustrating an exemplaryembodiment of a user interface for selection and viewing of the contentmaking up a presentation.

FIG. 5 shows a graphical representation illustrating an exemplaryembodiment of a multimedia object which may be included in apresentation.

FIG. 6 shows a graphical representation illustrating an exemplaryembodiment of a multimedia object including an overlay with associatedtext.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Specific embodiments of the invention now will be described more fullyhereinafter with reference to the accompanying drawings, in whichembodiments of the invention are shown. However, this invention shouldnot be construed as limited to the embodiments set forth herein. Rather,these embodiments are provided so that this disclosure will be thoroughand complete, and will fully convey the scope of the invention to thoseskilled in the art.

It also will be understood that, as used herein, the term “comprising”or the term “comprises” is open-ended, and includes one or more statedelements, steps or functions without precluding one or more unstatedelements, steps or functions. It should be understood that when anelement is referred to as being “connected” or “coupled” to anotherelement, it may be directly connected or coupled to the other element orintervening elements may be present.

The present invention is described below with reference to blockdiagrams and operational illustrations of methods and devices to create,modify, and use multimedia presentations. It is understood that eachblock of the block diagrams or operational illustrations, andcombinations of blocks in the block diagrams or operationalillustrations, may be implemented by means of analog or digital hardwareand computer program instructions. These computer program instructionsmay be provided to a processor of a general purpose computer, specialpurpose computer, ASIC, or other programmable data processing apparatus,such that the instructions, which execute via the processor of thecomputer or other programmable data processing apparatus, implements thefunctions/acts specified in the block diagrams or operational block orblocks. In some alternate implementations, the functions/acts noted inthe blocks may occur out of the order noted in the operationalillustrations. For example, two blocks shown in succession may in factbe executed substantially concurrently or the blocks may sometimes beexecuted in the reverse order, depending upon the functionality/actsinvolved.

As used herein, the term multimedia element refers to a digital objectthat may be processed by a digital processing apparatus in order togenerate one or more of the following types of output from a digitalprocessing apparatus examples of such output: sound, graphics, text,animation, video, or images. The term multimedia object refers to acomputer readable file or program that is comprised of a combination ofone or more multimedia elements. FIG. 1 illustrates the relationshipbetween multimedia elements 110, multimedia objects 120, and multimediamodules 130. Multimedia elements 110 are combined to create multimediaobjects 120; multimedia objects 120 are further combined to createmultimedia modules 130. In some embodiments, multimedia objects 120 mayinclude multimedia elements 110 of the same or different types. In someembodiments multimedia modules 130 may include combinations of differenttypes of multimedia objects 120 and multimedia elements 110. As usedherein the term interactive should be understood to refer to thecapability of a system, device or set of computer instructions torespond to user input.

As used herein, the term content creator refers to an individual, a setof individuals or an entity that creates content in the system. Contentcreation may include, for example, uploading content into a contentlibrary. Content creation may include, for example, editing ormanipulating content that is pre-existing in the library. Contentcreation may include, for example, re-arranging content that exists inthe content library. Moreover, content creation may include acombination of each of the above-listed activities. The term contentcreator should also be understood to be used interchangeably with theterm presentation creator inasmuch as a presentation creator may performany of the roles ascribed to the content creator above. The term contentmanager and the term presentation manager should also be understood tobe used interchangeably and to correspond to an individual, individualsor an entity that is involved with the management of the contentlibrary. Content managers and presentation managers may, for example,manage the distribution of content. Content managers and presentationmanagers may, for example, manage the revenue received in associationwith the distribution of content. Content managers and presentationmanagers may, for example, manage other administrative functions of thecontent library, such as access, report generation, and the like.

An embodiment of the invention includes a content library and anassociated user interface. The content library consists of a computerincluding a database or equivalent data storage software and associatedprocessing, disk, networking, memory, and user interface for storing,organizing, accessing and managing digital multimedia objects. The userinterface allows actors with access to the content library to upload,download, modify, and otherwise interact with the content library. Theseactors may include various parties who interact with the content andpresentations or programs that are stored in the content library. Theactors may be, for example, any one of or a combination of: a contentcreator, an entity responsible for uploading content to the contentlibrary, a content librarian who has administrative access to thecontent library, an individual who modifies features of content, anindividual who is interested in purchasing or accessing content orprograms or presentations stored in the content library.

The content library further comprises a database for storing informationrelated to the multimedia objects stored therein. This databasemaintains information related to the stored content as well asinformation related to the accessing of the content in the form ofpresentations that may include combinations or multimedia objects,multimedia elements, and related information.

FIG. 1 shows the relationship between media elements (such as images,animation, video, sound, or other media files), that may be assembledinto multimedia objects that contain one or more media elements. As thefiles are assembled into a multimedia presentation by the contentcreators, annotations may be added to the assembly in the form of text,or other multimedia objects. The multimedia objects may be furtherassembled into multimedia modules. The multimedia modules may be editedto create content presentations. The editing of the multimedia modulesmay, for example, include adding multimedia elements such as text,graphics, animation, video or other multimedia to the modules. Anexemplary editing process may include adding a textual or graphicaloverlay to each multimedia object in the presentation. The editing ofthe multimedia modules may include changing the time order or spatialrelationship in which the multimedia objects will be presented to thecontent consumer. These presentations may then be stored and edited.Once the presentations have been committed to the content library theymay be made available for sale, download, or interaction by contentconsumers.

FIG. 2 illustrates a flow chart according to certain embodiments of theinvention. A presentation creator may interact with the content librarythat includes a library of multimedia elements 211. In some embodiments,a content creator may create multimedia objects from multimedia elementsas in step 212. The step 212 of creating multimedia objects may includefor example, adding one or more multimedia elements to the library,editing multimedia elements that are stored in the library or addingrelated content such as metadata to the library. The step of creatingmultimedia modules 213 may include for example associating two or moremultimedia objects together to create multimedia modules that may bepresented to content consumers.

In the case that a presentation exists in the content library, eitherbecause the content has just been created or because the content existedprior to the content creator's current session with the content library,the content creator or producer may proceed to step 221 wherein thecontent presentation is assembled into a deliverable. This step may beperformed by the content creator, the content producer or, the contentconsumer, or by the system itself in an automated manner. This step mayinclude, for example, determining the spatial and temporal relationshipsamong the elements, objects and modules of the presentation. This stepmay also include adding additional content to the presentation, such asan overlay on the presentation images, animation, video or audio. Thisstep of adding additional content may, for instance, be used by a thirdparty to add branding to the presentation. For example, where the moduleis a fitness presentation, a personal trainer can perform this step toadd his branding to a presentation before making it available to hisclients for sale via download or viewing/display on the system using,e.g., a web browser.

In order to access a presentation via the content library, an entitysuch as a content consumer, a content host, or a third party applyinghis brand to the content, may interact with the content library todownload or view a presentation. This step 222 of delivery of contentmay include transmitting the content to a transferable medium such as aCD, DVD, or other recordable medium. This step may also includetransmitting the presentation over a network such as the internet. Thestep of delivery of content may involve transferring content directly tocontent consumers. In the case wherein content is delivered directly toconsumers, the content library may collect payment from the contentconsumer. In certain cases, the content library may transmit some or allof the payment collected from the content consumer to the element owners215.

In some cases a host or content distributor may perform a step 233 ofaccessing the content library in order to distribute content to thecontent consumers 231. In the case where the content is a fitnesspresentation, for example, this step may be performed by a contentdistributor such as a gym owner or personal trainer who distributes hisbranded fitness presentation to gym patrons. In certain embodiments,content distributors may collect all or a portion of the revenuegenerated from content consumers accessing the content via the contentlibrary. All or a portion of the revenue collected for a presentationmay be transmitted to the content library itself. In certain embodimentssome or all of the revenue collected for a presentation may be split, asin step 232, between content creators and element owners; see step 215.In other embodiments, revenue is generated using a subscription modelwherein users are charged a fee on a regular basis, e.g., monthly orannually, for access to the system. In further embodiments, access tothe system is sold organizations for the benefit of their members. Forexample, in an embodiment wherein the system contains content relatingto exercise and fitness, revenue can be generated via subscriptions bygyms which, in turn, provide access to the system to their members as abenefit of membership. Revenue can further be generated by bulk sales ofsubscriptions to resellers, which in turn sell the service at retail orwholesale.

FIG. 3 shows an example illustrating an embodiment of a user interfacefor the assembly of multimedia modules based on the ordered assembly ofmultimedia objects. The content presentation creator or content producercan perform a search by typing text into a search field 340 of theinterface or by selecting pre-existing lists based on the contentmetadata. The results 330 of this search or selection are multimediaobjects that are displayed in the results window 320. Note that thisuser interface also allows the user to filter the results of the searchusing a second filter drop down 345 and a third filter drop down 350. Inthe case wherein the user selects a filter for the search results 330displayed in the results window 320, the results displayed will belimited to those results that are consistent with the user-selectedfilter. For example, if the user selects a filter “male” from the filterdrop down 350, the results displayed in the results window will onlyinclude those results that are appropriate for males. In someembodiments the filter may comprise restrictions such as language, skilllevel, or other criteria for the selection of multimedia content. Theuser may use the search and filter functions to identify a set ofmultimedia objects 330 that appear in the results window 320. In thecase wherein the user is a content creator or content producer who isselecting content in order to create a multimedia presentation, the usermay select multimedia objects, which are shown in this example on theright side of the screen, to be dragged and dropped onto the contentassembly window 301. Note that the content assembly window 301 includesposition numbers 310 onto which the multimedia objects may be dragged.The position numbers 310 correspond to the order in which the multimediaobjects 330 dragged onto the content assembly window will be experiencedby the content consumer. Once the content creator or content producerhas selected a position number 310 to associate with the multimediaobject, the content creator or content producer may use their user inputdevice to “drop” the multimedia object onto that square in order toassociate the multimedia object with that place in the order of thepresentation experience. The position numbers 310 are used to determinethe time ordering of the content consumer experience of thepresentation. When a new multimedia object is dragged to a position inthe assembly window 301 that is between two filled position numbers,objects which were placed downstream from such position are bumped to anew position to make room for such insertion. Multimedia objects can bedeleted from the assembly window by dragging the objects and droppingthem outside the assembly window 301. After placement of media objectsonto positions in the assembly window 301, the objects can berepositioned in a like manner, e.g., by dragging and dropping objectsfrom one position to another within the assembly window 301.

An embodiment of the invention includes a multimedia presentationcreation and editing interface that allows a presentation creator tointeract with a content library. This interface may be realized viasoftware that runs on a computer such as a laptop, server computer,personal computer, personal digital assistant (PDA), and other devicecapable of programmatic interactivity. In an embodiment of thisinterface, the interface may provide access to a content library thatruns on the same computing device as the interface software. In anotherembodiment of this interface, the interface software may run on acomputing device and communicate via a network or other connection witha separate computing device on which the content library runs. Multiplelibraries can be simultaneously accessed, and such libraries may resideon multiple computers and/or computers on multiple networks.

A user interface for the creation of a presentation according to theinvention may support interaction with the content library for severalactors. Each of these actors may have unique access or action rights interms of their ability to interact with the content stored in thecontent library. For example, an individual interested in purchasing mayhave access restricted to complete prebuilt presentations, while acontent creator may be provided access which is not so-restricted.

The interface allows the presentation creator to examine a subset of themedia stored in the library and to select specific media elements to bearranged in a particular order. Note that each media element may beedited, for example, by adding or altering the text in the presentation,altering or adding images, altering or adding audio files or altering oradding other media content. It should further be noted that thepresenter of the presentation and the audience for the presentation maybe one and the same person. For example, the system may be used by anathlete to create a custom workout presentation for his own consumption.The system may be designed so as to be configurable such that objectsare dynamically associated with multimedia objects depending upon theuser profile of the particular user who has logged into the system. Forexample, where a user who is a member of particular gym (whichsubscribes to the system) is logged into the system, that gym's logo maybe overlayed on or otherwise associated with each element in the contentlibrary when such element is displayed to the user. Thus, when user Awho is a member of gym X is logged in, the images or other multimediacontent in the content library appear with the logo of gym X overlayedthereon, but when a user B who is a member of gym Y is logged in, thosesame images/content appear with the logo of gym Y overlayed thereon.

FIG. 4 shows an example illustrating the system's user interface forcreating one or more new multimedia objects and associating with suchobjects the hierarchical metadata which permits the objects to beoperated upon by the filters discussed above with reference to FIG. 3.In this example, the objects to be created are exercise instructionslides. The system first presents the user with an Exercise Categorieswindow 410 which prompts the user to select a pre-existing category, orcreate and select a new category, to be associated with his newobject(s). Once the category for the object(s) has been selected, anExercise Sub-Categories window 420 is additionally displayed. TheExercise Sub-Categories window 420 prompts the user to select apre-existing subcategory, or create and select a new subcategory, to beassociated with his new object. Once the subcategory for the object(s)has been selected, an Exercise List window 430 is additionallydisplayed. The Exercise List window 430 prompts the user to select anexercise name, or create and select a new exercise name, to beassociated with his new object(s).

Once the exercise name for the new object has been selected, an ExerciseDetails window 440 is additionally displayed. This window displays thenew objects, which in this example are a “male” exercise image and a“female” exercise image. The “male” image will have the followingmetadata associated with it: Category:Strength, Sub-Category:Legs,Exercise:BW Split Squat, and Gender:Male. The “female” image will havethe following metadata associated with it: Category:Strength,Sub-Category:Legs, Exercise:BW Split Squat, and Gender:Female. Browsebuttons are provided for each exercise image and each tip image to allowthe user to browse a multimedia library, either on his local machine ora remote machine, to select a multimedia element for use in the object.In this example, an image of a male performing a split squat exercisehas been selected for the “male” object and an image of a femaleperforming a split squat exercise has been selected for the “female”object. Alternative tip images can be associated with each object usingthe Exercise Details window. In this example, each object has associatedwith it a tip image comprising the exercise image with instructionaltext overlayed thereon. Tip images are discussed in further detailbelow.

In certain embodiments of the invention, an actor's experience using theinterface may be governed by permissions associated with their accountor profile. An actor with the appropriate permissions may create newcategories for classification of content, while an actor with anotherset of permissions may, for example, only be able to view content in thecontent library.

The multimedia object may be given a name for later access from thelibrary by an actor with the appropriate permissions to access it. Amongthe actors with permission to access or modify content in the library,may be, for example, the actor who added it to the system, which may ormay not be the presentation creator.

The multimedia object may have one or more files or other electronicinformation attached to it. Depending on the specifics of the multimediaobject or presentation, the actor may be able to choose from multiplemodes of interacting (e.g. editing, listening, viewing, or any otherinteraction appropriate to the multimedia object type or form) with thecontent. In one embodiment, for example, the content may includemeta-data that labels the content as person-type specific; that is, thecontent is tagged as being more appropriate for a certain type ofcontent consumer. In one embodiment of the invention, a given multimediaobject will have one or more different types of objects stored for alevel in the hierarchy. When an actor or content consumer requestsaccess to that multimedia object, the specific details of the objectreturned from the content library may differ depending on the typeassociated with the request. An exemplary instance of such a type is apresentation or multimedia object illustrating the steps required toperform a physical exercise, such as a pull-up exercise performed on achin-up bar. Depending on the gender of the content consumer thepresentation may include images of a female or a male performing thesteps of the exercise. A presentation may separately store themultimedia objects associated with the male and female exercisepresentations, but each gender specific presentation will be classifiedwithin the hierarchical storage system under, for example, theclassification physical fitness, pull-up. In an exemplary embodiment,the content provided may include content relating to a diet program.Such content may be customized to meet the unique dietary, health orfitness needs of the content consumer.

The multimedia objects created as part of the presentation may, forexample, be images that are assembled from the media elements by thecontent creator. Included within the multimedia objects may be elementssuch as images, links to video, graphical or textual overlays, or linksto other multimedia content contained within the library or accessiblethrough other sites or network locations available through the network.

An example of a multimedia element that may be included in a multimediaobject is a tip file. Tip files are optionally added to the multimediaobjects as clickable links. When a user selects or clicks a link, textor an alternative image appears, for example in the form of a popupwindow, the text or image including information pertinent to the object.An example would be text providing additional information on the imageor other multimedia elements included in the presentation.

FIGS. 5 and 6 illustrate a multimedia object resulting from assembly ofmultimedia elements according to certain embodiments of the invention.Boxes 500 and 600 are visual boxes containing multimedia elements thatmake up the multimedia object. FIG. 5 includes a Show Tip Image button510 which, when selected, causes the Tip Image from an associated TipFile to be displayed. An exemplary Tip Image associated with themultimedia object shown in FIG. 5 is illustrated in FIG. 6. Note thatFIG. 5 includes multiple images 520 and 522 as well as text 530 andother associated multimedia elements making up the multimedia object.The Tip image 630 can be displayed in an overlay fashion over anunderlying multimedia element 620 when the “Show Exercise Image” button610 is depressed.

Each multimedia object may also be associated with one or more companionmultimedia objects. In an embodiment of the content library thatincludes a presentation detailing the steps of a physical fitnessworkout, for example, each multimedia file or files associated with aparticular exercise may have a corresponding instructional tip file orfiles. The tip file or files may be added separately but are typicallyassociated in the content library catalog with the multimedia files ofthe exercise.

In one embodiment of the invention, the content library software runs ona processor that is part of a computer that is local to the contentcreator, for instance a laptop, personal computer, or personal digitalassistant (PDA). In another embodiment, the content library softwareruns on a remote server, while the user interface to the contentassembly and editing library is provided over a network to a devicelocal to the content creator.

In an exemplary embodiment of the invention, the assembled multimediapresentations may be stored in a content library, or multiple libraries,that allows the content creators to upload the presentations to a sitethat is accessible over the network. The content library stores themultimedia presentation in a manner that allows the content creator orother authorized individual to manipulate the multimedia elements thatmake up the presentation. The manipulation of the multimedia elements inthe content library allows the content to be easily customized in orderto meet the needs of the content consumer or content distributor.Examples of manipulations that the content library allows includes, butare not limited to: re-arranging multimedia objects in thepresentations, changing the audio or video or animation or othermultimedia components of the presentation, varying the language of thetext or audio of the presentation, varying the specific parameters of amultimedia element (such as for example an image file) within amultimedia presentation, and other efforts to create variations thatcause the content to be optimized for a particular consumer ordistributor.

The content library achieves the customizability by storing eachmultimedia element (for example image, video, animation, text, andaudio) individually within the storage associated with the contentserver. The content library also stores meta-data corresponding to theorder and relationship of the images within the presentation. Thestorage architecture allows for fast and easy customization of thepresentations. In addition, the flexibility inherent in thisarchitecture allows for simple replacement of multi-media element whenconvenient.

An embodiment of the invention includes a software module or softwaremodules within the content library that support the ability ofpresentation creators and presentation managers to monetizepresentations by providing them with the ability to make presentationscommercially available. In an embodiment of the invention, apresentation creator or presentation manager may register with a systemthat provides access to the content library in order to create apresentation utilizing the content in the library or to upload anexisting presentation. In either case, further customization may beadded to registered content. The presentation creator or presentationmanager may also upload information describing product offerings orother related information, such as biography information, informationregarding the presentation philosophy of the presentation manager, e.g.,the trainer. Once the content is registered as available to contentconsumers, the consumers may access it via the content library. Thepresentation can become detached from the system as a stand-alonedownload, file, movie, printout, etc., or may be made available forviewing online via the system. In some embodiments the content consumersmay be charged a fee for access to the content. In some embodiments thefee may be dependent in on the specifics of the presentation accessed.For example, in the case in which a customized version of a presentationis accessed, the content consumer may be charged a different rate forincluding certain specific content in the presentation or for requestingthe presentation in a particular format or order.

In some embodiments of the invention, the fees charged to access thecontent library may be provided to the content creator in an electronicformat. In some embodiments of the invention, fees charged to contentconsumers may be distributed among one or more parties, for example, apart of the income derived from providing access to a presentation maybe provided to a party that makes the content library available and apart of the income derived from the fee may be provided to the contentcreator or other parties involved in the creation or distribution of thepresentation.

In some embodiments advertising material may be included in the contentlibrary. In particular, the content library manager or presentationcreator may include advertising content in presentation itself or in thecontent library user interface. The advertising content may include forexample multimedia objects as well as clickable links that would allow acontent consumer to acquire additional information regarding anadvertised product or products.

In some embodiments, advertising material can be customized based on thecontent included in the presentation. In some embodiments, advertisingmaterial is customized based on the interest of the content consumers.The advertising material may be included as multimedia elements ormultimedia objects within the presentation. In some embodimentsadvertising may be overlaid on the images or video in the presentation.

In some embodiments, advertisers can pay for advertising material to beincluded in presentations accessed via the content library. Theadvertisers may provide advertising content to be included in thecontent library. This content is registered with the content library asassociated advertiser who has provided content. The content librarymaintains a record of the registered content for use administrativeactions including, for example tracking content usage. This advertisingcontent may include: images, video or other types of multimedia elementsto be inserted into presentations accessed via the library. The contentlibrary may collect information regarding the inclusion of content inpresentations or the accessing of the advertising content included inthe library. In some embodiments the advertisers may pay for content tobe included in the library. In other embodiments, the content librarywill track the inclusion of advertising content included in thepresentations. Based on the information regarding the content access theadvertisers may receive an invoice to provide revenue to theadministrators of the content library.

In some embodiments the advertising content included in the presentationwill be specifically targeted at the interests of the content consumers.In certain embodiments, the content library will maintain a database ofregistered content consumers. The profile information may includedemographic information, information on interests, information oncontent and advertising that has been previously accessed and otherinformation that can be useful in the targeting of advertising to aconsumer.

In certain embodiments of the invention content may be delivered tocontent consumers through a variety of formats depending on the contentconsumers needs. Devices that may access presentations or programsreceived from the content library may include for example one or more ofthe following devices that are capable of presenting media elements:personal computers, laptop computers, personal digital assistants, mp3players, mobile telephones, and other devices that may provideinteractive presentation experiences. The multimedia modules orpresentations may be transmitted directly to such devices without thenecessity of user-prompted downloading or synchronizing, viatransmission mediums such as wireless networks, wired networks, cellularnetworks, Bluetooth, and other data transmission means.

In some embodiments content providers may register specific content,which may be one or more of the following content types: multimediaelements, multimedia objects, multimedia modules, and presentations. Thecontent registration information may be stored in a database in thecontent library. The content registration information may be used, forexample, to determine the distribution of revenue associated withcontent access. Content providers who register with the content librarymay receive a part of the revenue collected from content consumers. Notethat the content library may register information associated with aparticular organization of content included in the presentation. Thisregistration information may be used to distribute revenue associatedwith access to the presentation to individuals or entities whoregistered content organization.

An exemplary implementation of the invention provides a presentationincluding fitness instruction on a computing device such as a laptop,personal computer, mobile phone or portable media player. Sequentialstill training photos with workout instructions overlaid thereon aredisplayed on the computing device. Still images may be accompanied bymultimedia content for example: background music, audio instruction, orvideo.

The presentation comprises multiple fitness training modules; eachmodule including multimedia content--for example multiplehigh-resolution image or video exercises. Each training module mayinclude multiple workouts. The set of training modules comprising afitness program for use by a content consumer interested in improvinghis or her physical fitness training techniques. The training modulesmay include, for example, video, animation, still images, text, orsimilar content appropriate to communicating the training material. Thetraining modules may include for example workout instructions overlaidupon each image. Each trainer module may have, for example, between 9and 50 exercises.

Each training module associated with an exercise may include contentillustrating or explaining positions in the exercise. For example, atraining module may include content describing or illustrating startingpositions and end positions for an exercise. The module shows thecontent consumer details of the exercise, for example the body part tobe exercised, the exercise name, and the proper form for performing theexercise.

Image exercises may include usage tips that guide the user through thesteps of the exercise. When the images are sequentially displayed, thetips may guide the user through each step of the exercise program.

Trainer modules may be provided for each of several different workoutroutines, including, e.g., an abdominal workout, cardiovascular workout,Pilates, yoga, or other types of physical fitness training. Each trainermodule that is downloaded from the content library is downloaded in aformat appropriate to the device that will be used for viewing thecontent. For example, for some viewing devices the presentation may beprovided from the content library as a collection of JPEG formattedimages. The user may use commercial off-the-shelf software, such asiPhoto available from Apple Computer of Cupertino, Calif., to transferimages to the portable media player. Other software, such as MicrosoftWindows XP, Adobe Photoshop Album, Adobe Photoshop Elements, Palm OSsoftware, etc., may be used. The trainer modules may be transmitted inthe form of a compressed file which is downloadable from an online storefor a fee or saleable on media such as CD-ROM. After downloading amodule and, if necessary, decompressing the images therein into a folderon the user's computer, the user may synchronize the computer with theportable media player to transfer the contents of the folder to theportable media player. Alternatively, the module may be directlytransmitted to a user's device without the need for downloading orsynchronization.

Certain embodiments of the invention may work in conjunction withcommercially available handheld portable media players such as the iPodor, iPod nano from Apple Computer of Cupertino, Calif., the HandspringTreo available from Palm, Inc. of Sunnyvale, Calif., or the BlackberryColor available from Research In Motion of Ontario, Canada. The user maymove from one exercise to the next using the “next” button, scrollwheel, or the like, on the portable media player until he has finishedthe workout. In order to give variation to the user's workout, the usermay customize a trainer module by changing the order of the exerciseimages or even combining multiple trainer modules. In alternative oradditional embodiments, an automated timed slideshow or video tutorialmay be provided.

Certain embodiments of the invention may also include a system andmethod for providing professional personal trainers with the ability tocreate their own trainer modules. These training modules may bemonetized by providing an interface to collect revenue. This interfacemay be associated with the download of a presentation or media element,or other access to content stored in or linked with the content libraryOnce the personal trainer has signed up for this service via acommercial web site, the trainer may create a page describing theproduct offering. Such a site may include a biography of the trainer;information on the trainer's training philosophy, and the like. Such apage could itself contain multimedia elements such as sound, video,animation, images, and other information. The trainer may go to aCreation Store section of the online store and choose from differentbody parts (Abs, Biceps, Triceps, Chest, etc.). When he or she chooses abody part, a set of standard images (for men/women) display. Thepersonal trainer drags and drops the images they want in the trainermodule. They may, for example be interacting with an of the userinterface area that allows them to create the trainer's own customizedtrainer module. They may upload an image, choose from differentinstructions available in the content library or otherwise customize orassemble a multimedia presentation. A newly created customized trainermodule may then be submitted to administrators of the online store forapproval. Once approved, the customized trainer module may be placed onthe online store for the personal trainer's clients/potential clients tobuy or download. Revenue from such sales may be split between thepersonal trainer and the administrators of the online store.

In an embodiment of the invention a content library is provided thatstores a plurality of content elements, where content elements should beunderstood to include for example, presentations, multimedia objects,and multimedia elements such as video, animation, image, text, audio orother multimedia files. The content library may also include aninterface that provides for an entity to add content elements to thecontent library and for combining multimedia elements into multimediaobjects or other content elements. The content library may also providean interface for selecting one or more presentations comprised ofcontent elements and for creating a product comprising at least thepresentation comprised of content elements. The content library may alsocompromise modules that are capable of assembling a deliverablecorresponding to a selected product. Where the deliverable may includefor example multimedia elements and multimedia objects which may or maynot be included in the selected presentation. The content library mayalso include an interface that allows a content consumer to order andreceive the deliverable in a format appropriate to the device that theywish to use to access the presentation.

In an embodiment of the invention a user interface is provided thatallows a user to select one or more multimedia elements or multimediaobjects from a content library. The selected multimedia elements ormultimedia objects typically having one or more associated attributes ormeta-data. The user interface providing an interface to select a filterfor filtering the contents of the content library. Where the filter isprovided to filter content based on one or more attributes of thecontent in the library. The user interface a providing a display forviewing the output of the filter. The user interface including anarranging or ordered assembly tool that allows a user to register in thecontent library an order that the multimedia objects or contents will beexperienced by a content consumer. The registration of the order ofexperience may be done for example by dragging and dropping images oricons associated with the content onto an area of a window. Note that inan embodiment of the invention, the output of the filter may be visibleto the user and available to be dragged onto the arranging or orderedassemble tool.

In an embodiment of the invention is a media construction system. Themedia construction system available to construct presentations forpresentation to content consumers. The presentations are comprised of aset of media objects. The media objects that are comprised of a set ofmedia elements, where media elements should be understood to mean forexample images, audio, video, animation, olfactory or other multimediafiles that may be accessed and stored electronically. The systemincludes a library for the storage of presentations, multimedia objects,and multimedia elements. The library including software to support thecreation of presentations. The creation of presentations including theselection of one or more multimedia objects and a definition of arelationship between one or more multimedia objects. The library alsoincluding storage for storing the presentations defined in terms ofselected multimedia objects and relationships associated with apresentation.

In an embodiment of the invention is a media construction system. Themedia construction system available to construct presentations forpresentation to content consumers. The presentations are comprised of aset of media objects. The media objects that are comprised of a set ofmedia elements, where media elements should be understood to mean forexample images, audio, video, animation, olfactory or other media filesthat may be accessed and stored electronically. The system includes alibrary for the storage of presentations, multimedia objects, andmultimedia elements. The library including software to support thecreation of presentations. The creation of presentations including theselection of one or more multimedia objects and a definition of arelationship between one or more multimedia objects. The library alsoincluding storage for storing the presentations defined in terms ofselected multimedia objects and relationships associated with apresentation.

In certain embodiments of the invention, the customization provided bythe content library and its user interface may be used to focuspresentations to the specific needs of a content consumer or consumers.Once a presentation has been created in the content library, it may bedelivered to a content consumer either directly or through anintermediary. The ability to provide interactive presentations throughintermediaries may allow content creators additional opportunity tomonetize their presentation skills as well as creating new opportunitiesfor other agents in the chain of providing presentation to receivereimbursement for the efforts.

While the invention has been particularly shown and described withreference to a preferred embodiment thereof, it will be understood bythose skilled in the art that various changes in form and details may bemade therein without departing from the spirit and scope of theinvention.

In the drawings and specifications, there have been disclosedembodiments of the invention and, although specific terms are employed,they are used in a generic and descriptive sense only and not forpurposes of limitation, the scope of the invention being set forth inthe following claims.

1. A system comprising: a memory; a processor; and a computer-readablemedium comprising computer-readable code that is read by the processorto perform the steps of: receiving, from a graphical user interface at auser device, first filter data related to one or more first physicalexercise attributes; comparing the first filter data with metadataassociated with physical exercise objects, the metadata and the physicalexercise objects being stored in one or more databases, the physicalexercise objects comprising image data selected from the groupconsisting of moving, still or animated image data related to physicalexercises; determining a requested first subset of the physical exerciseobjects based on results of the comparing step; displaying in thegraphical user interface the requested first subset of the physicalexercise objects as a physical exercise routine presentation; receiving,from the graphical user interface, presentation data related toreorganization of the physical exercise routine presentation; andproviding the reorganized physical exercise routine presentation as acompleted physical exercise routine presentation.
 2. The system of claim1, wherein the processor further performs the steps of: receiving, fromthe graphical user interface, second filter data related to one or moresecond physical exercise attributes; comparing the second filter datawith the metadata associated with the requested first subset of thephysical exercise objects; determining a requested second subset of thephysical exercise objects based on results of the comparing step; anddisplaying in the graphical user interface the requested second subsetof the physical exercise objects as part of the physical exerciseroutine presentation.
 3. The system of claim 1, wherein the physicalexercise objects further comprise audio data.
 4. The system of claim 1,wherein the graphical user interface provides for selection of the oneor more first physical exercise attributes from a menu.
 5. The system ofclaim 1, wherein the graphical user interface comprises a drag and dropfeature that allows for the reorganization of the physical exerciseroutine presentation.
 6. The system of claim 1, wherein the one or morefirst physical exercise attributes comprise physical exercise attributesselected from the group consisting of gender, body part, skill level,exercise type or exercise equipment.
 7. A system comprising: a memory; aprocessor; and a computer-readable medium comprising computer-readablecode that is read by the processor to perform the steps of: generating,based on user input to a graphical user interface at a user device,first filter data related to one or more first physical exerciseattributes; receiving a requested first subset of physical exerciseobjects, the requested first subset of the physical exercise objectsdetermined by comparing the first filter data with metadata associatedwith the physical exercise objects, the metadata and the physicalexercise objects being stored in one or more databases, the physicalexercise objects comprising image data selected from the groupconsisting of moving, still or animated image data related to physicalexercises; displaying the requested first subset of physical exerciseobjects in the graphical user interface as a physical exercise routinepresentation; generating presentation data related to reorganization ofthe physical exercise routine presentation; and receiving thereorganized physical exercise routine presentation as a completedphysical exercise routine presentation.
 8. The system of claim 7,wherein the processor further performs the steps of: generating, basedon user input to the graphical user interface, second filter datarelated to one or more second physical exercise attributes; comparingthe second filter data with the metadata associated with the requestedfirst subset of the physical exercise objects; determining a requestedsecond subset of the physical exercise objects based on results of thecomparing step; and displaying in the graphical user interface therequested second subset of the physical exercise objects as part of thephysical exercise routine presentation.
 9. The system of claim 7,wherein the physical exercise objects further comprise audio data. 10.The system of claim 7, wherein the graphical user interface provides forselection of the one or more first physical exercise attributes from amenu.
 11. The system of claim 7, wherein the graphical user interfacecomprises a drag and drop feature that allows for the reorganization ofthe requested first subset of the physical exercise objects.
 12. Thesystem of claim 7, wherein the one or more first physical exerciseattributes comprise physical exercise attributes selected from the groupconsisting of gender, body part, skill level, exercise type or exerciseequipment.
 13. The system of claim 7, further comprising the step ofupdating the completed physical exercise routine presentation by atleast one of modifying a physical exercise object within the completedphysical exercise routine presentation or adding a physical exerciseobject to the completed physical exercise routine presentation.
 14. Thesystem of claim 7, further comprising the step of updating the completedphysical exercise routine presentation by at least one of modifying aphysical exercise object within the completed physical exercise routinepresentation or adding a physical exercise object to the completedphysical exercise routine presentation.
 15. A system comprising: amemory; a processor; and a computer-readable medium comprisingcomputer-readable code that is read by the processor to perform thesteps of: receiving, from a graphical user interface at a user device,first filter data related to one or more first physical exerciseattributes selected from a filter component of the graphical userinterface; comparing the first filter data with metadata associated withphysical exercise objects, the metadata and the physical exerciseobjects being stored in one or more databases, the physical exerciseobjects comprising image data selected from the group consisting ofmoving, still or animated image data related to physical exercises;determining a requested first subset of the physical exercise objectsbased on results of the comparing step; sending to a filtered librarydisplay of the graphical user interface, the requested first subset ofthe physical exercise objects as a physical exercise routinepresentation; receiving, from an ordered assembly display of thegraphical user interface, presentation data related to reorganization ofthe physical exercise routine presentation; and providing thereorganized physical exercise routine presentation as a completedphysical exercise routine presentation.
 16. A system comprising: amemory; a processor; and a computer-readable medium comprisingcomputer-readable code that is read by the processor to perform thesteps of: generating, based on user input to a filter component of agraphical user interface at a user device, first filter data related toone or more first physical exercise attributes; receiving a requestedfirst subset of physical exercise objects, the requested first subset ofthe physical exercise objects determined by comparing the first filterdata with metadata associated with the physical exercise objects, themetadata and the physical exercise objects being stored in one or moredatabases, the physical exercise objects comprising image data selectedfrom the group consisting of moving, still or animated image datarelated to physical exercises; displaying the requested first subset ofphysical exercise objects in a filtered library display of the graphicaluser interface as a physical exercise routine presentation; generatingpresentation data related to reorganization of the physical exerciseroutine presentation; displaying the reorganized physical exerciseroutine presentation in an ordered assembly display of the graphicaluser interface; and receiving the reorganized physical exercise routinepresentation as a completed physical exercise routine presentation.